Summer Camp 2026 - Fairytale Week

Once upon a time at EAPS Summer Camp, our studio transformed into a world of magic, and fantasy for Fairytale Week! From tiny fairy homes and enchanted forests to dragons, medieval crests, and magical wands, campers explored storytelling through painting, sculpture, collage, and mixed media.

We began by painting ceramic fairy doors, imagining the secret worlds that might exist behind them and the fairies who might call them home. Campers thought about how a tiny fairy might build with materials found in nature - moss, twigs, pebbles, flowers, and leaves - and used those ideas to inspire their designs and stories.

Next, we explored the fascinating world of mushrooms and fairy rings. After studying the shapes, textures, and patterns of different mushroom varieties, campers handbuilt their own whimsical mushroom groves from clay using pinching and sculpting techniques. Each little landscape became the perfect setting for an imaginary gathering of fairies!

Then it was time for dragons! Using Model Magic, campers sculpted colorful dragon eyes, tinting their clay with markers and pigments before adding coils, spikes, scales, and other intricate textures. They experimented with the shape of the eyelids and surrounding features to give each dragon its own expression and personality, from sweet and curious to fierce and mysterious.

Our next project took us deep into the enchanted forest. Campers explored light, shadow, highlights, silhouettes, and depth as they painted magical forest backgrounds. Layers of cut construction-paper trees created foregrounds and backgrounds, transforming their flat artwork into richly layered woodland scenes.

We also created fairytale stained-glass luminaries through a collaborative design project. Campers worked together to imagine a magical landscape, then transferred elements of the design onto translucent sheets and added their own unique details. Once illuminated, the colorful artwork glowed like tiny stained-glass windows from an enchanted castle.

Next, we traveled back to medieval times and designed our own personal crests and shields. Campers chose symbols representing their families, heritage, personalities, and interests, learning how imagery and symbols can communicate a story without words. Every finished crest was completely unique to its artist.

For our final project, campers became wand makers! Using clay, string, gems, color, texture, and mixed media, they designed wands meant to channel their own imaginary kinds of magic. We even took inspiration from fantasy stories and imagined mysterious wand cores, like dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, and phoenix feather - before campers invented magical materials and properties of their own.

Fairytale Week was filled with whimsy, storytelling, and incredible creativity. We loved watching our campers build entire imaginary worlds through their artwork and seeing just how far a little imagination could take us!